We were interviewed by Michael Bjorn for the May edition of Shindig Magazine. We chat about our album The Solid and the Hollow:
What’s real and what's not?
UK psych-poppers The Junipers’ fifth album finds them on solid ground. Michael Bjorn tunes in.
The cover of The Junipers' The Solid And The Hollow screams psychedelia. The music however, as is always the case with the Leicester quartet, more subtle. While grounded in 60s references, it conveys a sense of timelessness.
Songwriting multi-instrumentalist Joe Wiltshire and singer/guitarist Robyn Gibson had both recently been rediscovering stuff from their youth. “The first music I got into really deeply was '60s stuff. The Beatles Anthology was coming out, and it was all Britpop,” says Joe. “I was uncool at school because I liked the Beatles,” remembers Robyn. “But everybody caught up with me later on.” Joe then dusted off a song he had written in his teens. “We did a crappy demo when we were kids,” he says. ‘She Makes the Sun Shine’ captures that sweet innocence, now enhanced by Robyn’s smooth vocals.
Having reformed the lineup from formative second album Paint the Ground, the idea was to make a guitar based record. But what is imagined doesn’t always become real, as Joe couldn’t keep his hands from twiddling lots of knobs in his studio. “We'd have like four hours at the studio once a week, and then I'd spend the rest of the week tinkering around,” he says. “I was blown away by drummer Ben Marshall and bass player Ash Selden,” adds Robyn. “They were doing everything in about two takes.”
‘Meadow Song’ is somewhat of a centrepiece, providing the album’s title with the line: “The solid and the hollow / appear the same”. “It's like a paradox. What’s real and what's not,” Joe explains. “The album is like a marquee; ‘Meadow Song’ is the main pole and everything comes down from that like an umbrella,” adds Robyn.
Another tent pole, then, is ‘Swan’. “That was the first one,” says Robyn. “We had a go at it in my living room before we took it up to the studio.” Gently brimming with the band’s trademark ethereal softness, it’s irresistible.
‘Where I'm Landing’ was inspired by Joe taking care of his daughter. “She has lots classes to do in town and I have to wait . I'll spend two hours waiting in a car park somewhere, wanting to be somewhere else,” he says with a smile. “There's quite a lot of places to escape to on the album,” concludes Robyn.
There’s however no escaping on ‘In A Maze’. “When I get stuck inside I don’t want to get out,” sings Robyn. That also sums up listening to The Junipers: Captivating. Who needs an escape?
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